Posted in: Ablaze Publishing, Ahoy, Antarctic Press, Archie, AWA, Boom, Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Dark Horse Comics, Dynamite, Fantagraphics, Image, Mad Cave Studios, Oni Press, Titan, Valiant | Tagged: bankruptcy, diamond

More Money Owed By Diamond Comics To More People And Publishers

More money owed by Diamond Comic Distributors to even more people and publishers as the Chapter 11 bankruptcy fallout continues.

Published Tue, 25 Feb 2025 14:57:12 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Diamond Comic Distributors owe $46 million, impacting authors, illustrators, and senior staff salaries.
Several publishers and creators have disputed claims, including Boom Entertainment and Dynamic Forces.
Debt amounts are revised up for many top accounts, including Lunar Distribution and Titan Publishing.
Notable unpaid debts include Avatar Press, Oni Press, Dark Horse Comics, and many others in the industry.

I've been continuing to dive into the Diamond Comic Distributors filings for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. And have come out of the pool, shaken, stirred, and plenty of numbers and statistics stuffed in every orifice. While we knew there was $31 million in debts to the top thirty accounts, the total unsecured claims are north of $46 million, at $46,764,299.86. So who else is owed what?

There are some authors and illustrators who are owed money and may have been working on freelance projects for Diamond. Fantasy author Adam Novak is owed $1581.88, horror artist Adrian Aguilar is owed $41.82, and illustrator Giovanni Zapata Cabrera is owed $1216. Staff, such as Director of Retail Service Nancy Romer, is owed $3,528.31, Purchasing Manager Stuart Schreck is owed $1924.99, and Chief Procurement Officer Timothy J Lenaghan owed $8,269.23. Looking at the seniority of staff, one could surmise that they are down a few week's salary, maybe a month at the most. Chapter 11 bankruptcy happened fast.

They list a lot of external creditors too. Publishers, printers, service providers, business organisations and the like. There are a number of disputed amounts. Boom Entertainment on $799,133.29, Dynamic Forces on $158,820.93, Action Lab $14,397.25, Benitez Productions, $2,079.27, Floating World Comics on $5,704.19, American Mythology Press on $43,354.17, First Factory a software company who were at SDCC on $118,470.83, and the like, all disputed. Maybe they will work out who owes what later.

It's also notable that many of the amounts listed on the Top Thirty Debtors lists have been revised up. Lunar Distribution was stated as being $496,967.84 in the hole, but on the filed papers, it is actually $545,560.61.Titan Publishing, initially seen as being owed $357,417.28, is actually owed $410,711.21. Udon was initially listed as $202,694.07 but is more like $285,622.92.

Will Diamond's Bankruptcy Process Go After Comic Shop Debt? — Diamond logo

Also notably, Diamond UK is listed as being owed over two million dollars, $2,080,237.46, by Diamond. Other notable non-disputed debts include:

Avatar Press, owners of Bleeding Cool, owed $36,495.14.
Valiant owed $5,283.13, but Alien Books who run Valiant these days, owed $63,945.80
Oni Press owed $179,942.40
Dark Horse Comics $70,968.14
Image Comics $25,666.87
Massive Publishing $40,700.69
Mad Cave $61,968.12
Chip Zdarsky $3,105
Fantagraphics $92,859.04
Archie Comics $12,137.20
Twomorrows Publishing $62,752.81
Blue Yonder $96,303.87
Keenspot Entertainment $56,088.31
TokyoPop is owed $10,289.05
Storm King Productions $950.32
Soaring Penguin Press $168.93
Zenescope $68,766.71
Slave Labor Graphics $2,949.18
Silver Sprocket $5,751.52
Scout Comics $1,274.97
Scholastic $51,548.50
Sumerian Comics $16,197.25
Papercutz $10,351.69
Stranger Comics $4,150.69
Magma Comix $6,780.51
Opus Comics, $426.16
Humanoids $7,909.48
About Comics $2,447.20
Ablaze $19,447.86
1First Comics $4,473.60
US Customs & Borders $24,636.56
Fair Square $1,538.28
Dstlry $65,013.15
TJO Studios $1,627.06
Dren Produictions $5,486.84
Drawn & Quarterly $9,103.32
Blood Moon Comics $7,926.82
Blackbox Comics $13,446.92
Crusade Comics $512.00
Clover Press $9,561.14
Battle Quest $1,152.90
Band Of Bards $13.98
TPub Comics $774.19
AWA $803.64
Cosmic Lion $2,529.50
Antarctic Press $12,362.79
Frank Miller Presents $150.48
Aspen $1,890.50

They also list in assets a $155,925.13 loan from Steve Geppi and a $418,922.74 credit note from Dynamic Forces/Dynamite Entertainment, though that itself has been disputed. But right now I am all out of decimal points.

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